A conveyance involving trusts may be submitted for registration as an electronic document or tendered directly to the Land Registrar for processing and registration, without preapproval from the Ministry of Finance (ministry).

Provided there has been no change in beneficial ownership since the transferor obtained registered title, the "Value of the Consideration" (as defined in the Act) for a subsequent trust conveyance will be NIL. As a result, there is no land transfer tax payable.

The evidence which is required to be submitted is a completed supplementary trust affidavit setting out the facts which entitle the instrument to be registered with nil "Value of the Consideration". This affidavit is to be submitted to the Land Registrar in order for certification of title to be completed.

In order to register a paper Transfer/Deed involving a trust where there has been no change in the beneficial ownership, the following documents must be presented for registration in order for registration to take place without the payment of tax:

three original signed Land Transfer Tax Affidavit forms. One affidavit is attached to the original Transfer/Deed, one is attached to the duplicate Transfer/Deed and the third unattached affidavit is to be tendered to the Land Registrar, and

a completed supplementary trust affidavit setting out the facts which entitle the instrument to be registered with nil "Value of the Consideration".

If there has been no change in beneficial ownership since the transferor acquired title to the property, the "Value of the Consideration" will be nil for a conveyance in which only the legal title to the land is transferred. However, where there was a change in beneficial ownership after the transferor acquired title and before July 19, 1989, land transfer tax will be payable on registration of the conveyance.

the Land Transfer Tax Affidavit [PDF - 378 KB] must be completed showing the "Value of the Consideration" for the transaction which resulted in the change in beneficial ownership. Tax is payable when the conveyance to the beneficial owner is registered. No supplementary trust affidavit is required for registration.

In the case of a conveyance from a trustee-transferor to a trustee-transferee where:

the beneficial ownership changed after the trustee-transferor acquired registered title, and

the beneficial ownership changed prior to July 19, 1989, and valuable consideration was given to obtain beneficial ownership,

the definition of "Value of the Consideration" deems the consideration to be equal to the fair market value of the land at the date of registration. The Land Transfer Tax Affidavit [PDF - 378 KB] must be completed showing the deemed "Value of the Consideration", and tax is payable when the conveyance to the trustee-transferee is registered. No supplementary trust affidavit is required for registration.

In the case of a conveyance from a beneficial owner to a trustee where:

the beneficial owner was originally registered on title as a trustee and

the beneficial owner obtained his or her beneficial ownership after acquiring legal title and prior to July 19, 1989,

the Land Transfer Tax Affidavit [PDF - 378 KB] must be completed showing the "Value of the Consideration" for the transaction in which the beneficial owner obtained beneficial ownership. Tax is payable when the conveyance to the trustee is registered. No supplementary trust affidavit is required for registration.

A change in beneficial ownership in land which occurred after July 18, 1989, evidence of which is not registered on title within 30 days of the change, is subject to tax under section 3 of the Act. A Return on the Acquisition of a Beneficial Interest in Land form [PDF - 811 KB] must be submitted to the minister within 30 days of the change in beneficial ownership. If this has been overlooked, the ministry encourages you to make use of its Voluntary Disclosure Policy, in which any penalties for not filing the return and paying the tax on time may be waived when certain conditions are met. For more information, please refer to the ministry's Voluntary Disclosure bulletin which may be obtained by contacting the ministry at 1 866 ONT-TAXS (1 866 668-8297), or on the ministry's website ontario.ca/finance.

Subsection 3(6) of the Act provides that if the tax is paid under section 3 of the Act, then any subsequent registration evidencing the change in beneficial ownership will not attract tax a second time under section 2 of the Act. However, the minister must be satisfied that the registration will evidence only the change in beneficial ownership upon which tax was paid. In order to register a transfer/deed involving a trust in which there has been a change of beneficial ownership since the transferor obtained title, an application under subsection 3(7) must be made to the minister at the address at the end of this bulletin.

Where the transfer is to be submitted electronically, the following documentation must be submitted to the Land and Resource Taxes section of the ministry to obtain an endorsement to indicate that land transfer tax has been paid:

The land transfer statements must be completed on the hard copies of the document to be submitted for registration. Statement 9089 must be selected under the exemption tab of the electronic affidavit:

"Tax has been paid directly to the Ministry of Finance and documents endorsed accordingly as confirmed by receipt no. NUMBER (evidence needs to be submitted)".

One hard copy of the document to be registered will be endorsed by the ministry with the receipt number, and returned. This endorsed document must be submitted to the Land Registrar as evidence that the endorsement from the ministry was received.

If a paper Transfer/Deed will be registered, then the following documentation must be submitted to the Land and Resource Taxes section of the ministry to obtain an endorsement by the ministry to indicate that land transfer tax has been paid:

one original and two duplicate copies of the Transfer/Deed to be registered, and

To obtain the most current version of this document, visit ontario.ca/finance and enter 553 in the find page field at the bottom of the webpage or contact the ministry at 1 866 668-8297 (1 800 263-7776 for teletypewriter).